Wendy Jedlička (CPP, MIM) is a front-line sustainable packaging designer. We recently caught up with her to discuss her fully online course devoted to the subject, Making the Business Case for Sustainability. SDO: What is your class about and who is it for? Wendy: The class is about diving into the innovation advantages business schools →

Want to join the MASD program? We are currently accepting applications from prospective students for this 100% online program devoted to sustainability-focused design. Deadline to apply for Spring 2015 entrance is November 1, 2014. Spring semester begins January 20, 2015. Contact us Contact sustainable_design[at]mcad.edu for more information. Learn more Cindy Gilbert from MCAD →

Hear ye, hear ye… Join Cindy Gilbert, director of MCAD’s Sustainable Design Program, for a 1-hr informational webinar about the fully online Master of Arts in Sustainable Design degree offered by MCAD. Webinar is scheduled for October 21 @7pm CT. Cindy promises to field all questions at that time! Just try to stump her Sign →

The role of graphic designers is shifting. No longer seen solely as the producers of aesthetic “things”, graphic designers are being valued for their problem-solving skills and ability to help businesses strategize. At the same time, both designers and the clients they serve are increasingly expected to consider issues of sustainability and take responsibility for →

MCAD SD faculty member, Krista Leraas, arranged for MCAD’s sustainable design program to sponsor ecological economist, Dr. Nate Hagens, as a guest speaker held at the MCAD Auditorium on July 10, 2014. Nate is a well-known speaker on the big picture issues facing human society. Until recently he was lead editor of The Oil Drum, one →

Net zero. Carbon neutral. Zero impact. Sustainable. These buzzwords and concepts have come to represent the highest levels of innovation within our built and designed environments. Or have they? It turns out that they have not, that a new wave of development is pioneering beyond them into the restorative, net positive space. Restorative development leapfrogs →

A master’s program in sustainable design? Taught completely online? Led by a biologist? Requiring a course in leadership? What are they thinking? For those comfortable with traditional design programs, these sorts of questions must come to mind when looking at MCAD’s one-of-a-kind MA in Sustainable Design program. When the director of MCAD’s MA in Sustainable →

As consumers, when it comes to sustainability, we are surrounded by bad news: Global warming, water scarcity, air pollution, loss of biodiversity, human rights abuses, carbon emissions, poor working condition… The list goes on and on. Fortunately, technology increasingly allows us to track and trace the back-stories of everyday products related to these sustainability topics →

A big congratulations to our 2013-14 graduates. We couldn’t be more proud of you and your work. Elke Erschfeld’s thesis was titled, “The Life of Life Events: Using leverage points, Life Cycle Thinking (LCT), and infographics to influence sustainable consumer behavior.” Sarah Dehlinger-Stanke’s thesis was titled, “Connecting to Nature in Interior Dementia Care Environments.” Mirna →

During the 2012–13 Biomimicry Student Design Challenge (BSDC) competition, I discovered that solving humanity’s biggest design challenges requires new skills applied within a comprehensive framework that integrates sustainability. I gained a deeper understanding of the Buckminster Fuller Institute‘s tenet of what Fuller described as “comprehensive anticipatory design scientists.” (Fuller, 1999) Learning from nature Biomimicry, the →